greek austerity News

Athens -
The Greek No vote represents a well-deserved slap in the face to the EU, which has completely ignored the suffering its austerity measures have caused. The question now is whether the EU will even pay attention to either the vote or the issues.

Athens -
In an attempt to reassure the EU public and officials that a Syriza victory is not a threat to the EU, leader Alex Tsipras, has published opinion pieces in both the FInancial Times and earlier in a German newspaper, Handelsblatt.

Athens -
Rather than supporting negotiations on the Greek debt crisis, many EU leaders continue to support the austerity programs imposed by lenders even though Greece may very well elect a government on January 25 that will insist on changing terms of the loans.

Athens -
That’s the opinion of a United Nations expert who warned yesterday that some of the austerity measures imposed on the Greek economy undermine Greek citizens’ access to jobs, health, water and energy.

Greek austerity has brought yet another tragedy as two students died from carbon monoxide poisoning after using a charcoal grill for warmth. They were unable to afford heating oil, a luxury item in Greece. Two of their friends remain in a coma.

Shortly after midnight the Greek Parliament voted in favour of the latest austerity measures that include drastic cuts and new taxes to the tune of €13.5 billion, and comprehensive changes to the labour laws.

Sydney -
“Austerity” is a word which first came from the hellishly idiotic mouth of Margaret Thatcher. After years of chronic cronyism and nepotism governments around the world are seeing the start of a long overdue backlash.

London -
Greek Olympic officials have been criticized for lavish spending on their London visit, hiring the exclusive Carlton Club for £150,000. In contrast, Greek athletes were asked to return their pocket money if they left the Olympic Village early.

Athens -
Members of Greece's Golden Dawn party distributed food to needy Greeks suffering under austerity measures, on Wednesday. The food was purchased by money received by Golden MPs as parliamentary compensation.

Athens -
A mobile social kitchen in Athens attempts to feed the growing number of hungry people. Placing themselves in a different square daily, they carry all their equipment by car and set up in a different location each day.

" I do not want to make anything look prettier than it is: Greece still has a tough path ahead, but it has gone a long way," said Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, to the Chech daily newspaper Lidove Noviny at the beginning of this week.

As the Greek people suffer under biting austerity measures, most often considered necessary due to profligate spending and corruption, it is galling to note that austerity could have been avoided if spending on unnecessary weapons had been cut.

Members of the PES in the European Parliament have likened the Troika, responsible for implementing austerity measures in Greece, to locusts. They have suggested a shadow alternate Troika to offer more constructive proposals to aid Greece.

Athens -
Greek politicians have finally reached an agreement on new austerity measures demanded by the Troika in order to secure the 130 billion Euro loan needed to prevent a disorderly default in March.